Blinken said that the APU received from the West everything necessary for a successful counteroffensive The US State Department believes that the Ukrainian army has everything it needs for an effective counteroffensive.
But Kiev has already stated that there is no final plan to strike yet. One or another decision will be made depending on the situation. Western and Russian experts assume that the offensive will begin from the Zaporozhye region, and military commander Yuri Kotenok admits that there is a "high probability" of an APU offensive in the coming hours.
The United States said that Ukraine has already received from Western allies everything necessary for a successful attack.
"As I have repeatedly said, we are talking not only about weapons, but also about training, so that Ukraine can service the systems we have supplied. And it is very important, of course, that they have the right plans," said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
According to him, the APU "has everything in all these areas to continue to be successful."
In Kiev, they think otherwise. On May 9, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba once again demanded American F-16 fighters.
"I woke up early this morning from loud explosions: our air defense intercepted missiles. I thank our partners for providing air defense systems. I repeat my call to increase their number and provide F-16s that will work together with ground platforms to close our skies," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
"I hope and expect that everything will be fine with them, because every time I saw Ukrainians, they exceeded all expectations. But we have to be realistic. This is the real world, this is not a Hollywood movie," The Guardian quotes him as saying.
The British Foreign Minister drew attention to the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have shown themselves to be "very effective defenders of their country, but we must admit that there may not be a simple, quick and decisive breakthrough."
Earlier, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mikhail Podolyak, said that the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot be considered as one battle, "which will solve everything," UNIAN reports. He confirmed that there would be no large-scale and spectacular operation, like "in a Hollywood movie".
"There will be no progress of Ukraine forward, otherwise it looks like we are in a Hollywood movie where a big battle for Middle-earth begins, and one battle for Gondor will decide everything. It doesn't happen that way. Taking into account the intensity and scale of the war, taking into account the resources that Russia invests here, including those mobilized, this is a number of measures," the politician said.
According to him, the counteroffensive is not "one week, one day or a month." Podolyak stressed that this is a question of "many events" - successful and less successful.
According to Russian military commander Yuri Kotenok, the APU is preparing for a breakthrough attempt in the next day. "The probability of the next day (hours) is high," he wrote in his Telegram channel.
The journalist believes that the Ukrainian military will try to make a breakthrough "in several directions at once," while "the priority is the southern (Azov) front," where an accumulation of forces was previously noticed.
But in Ukraine, they claim that there is no exact plan for a counteroffensive. This was stated by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Alexey Danilov.
"To date, there are no people who know exactly all our plans [for a counteroffensive]. The final plan has not yet been approved," he said on the Rada TV channel.
According to him, Kiev has several options, but they are still in development. Depending on the circumstances, certain decisions will be made.
On May 4, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with Izvestia that Kiev's planned counteroffensive would lead to "inevitably sad consequences." He stressed that the Russian military is ready for any development of events - "neither Kiev nor the West will receive any dividends from this."
On the same day, the chairman of the Zaporozhye movement "We are together with Russia" Vladimir Rogov said that the Ukrainian army had concentrated its forces on the front line to launch a counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye region.
He expressed the opinion that the APU adheres to the tactics of conducting reconnaissance by combat in order to break through the first line of Russian defense. After that, according to him, Kiev will throw its main forces for a breakthrough and a full-scale offensive, RIA Novosti reports. Rogov noted that the Russian military knows and expects a strike on the city of Tokmak.
Earlier, the acting governor of the Zaporozhye region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said on the Crimean 24 TV channel that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were ready to launch a counteroffensive in his region. According to him, "the shelves are fully equipped."
"There are liaison officers, combat control officers, intelligence officers, sappers - everything that is needed is fully staffed today. We are ready to restrain the onslaught of the enemy and, moreover, to launch a counteroffensive. I'm talking about our offensive. We have enough forces and means," he said.
Angelina Milchenko
